Windermere Mayor Gary Bruhn tonight praised the town's police force in the wake of an Orlando Sentinel article detailing problems with the chief and some officers. Town officials have received quite a few inquiries about the article, Bruhn said at a Town Council meeting. But he dismissed concerns raised in it about the qualifications and histories of some officers, including Chief Daniel Saylor. The article pointed out that police pay in the town is among the lowest in Central Florida, and the force is heavily dependent on unpaid part-timers.

The former long-time clerk in a tiny town in Volusia County is in big trouble. Debra Bass, former clerk for the town of Pierson in northwest Volusia, is accused of stealing $71,000 in public funds. Bass, charged with grand theft and organized scheme to defraud, surrendered to investigators with the Volusia County Sheriff's Office at her attorney's office today. She was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach on $20,000 bond. A routine audit of the town's finances turned up financial discrepancies last year.

At the end of the Eatonville Town Council meeting on Tuesday night, an older woman said, ''This is sickening,'' as she got up from her chair and left the building in disgust.Her sentiments certainly are understandable. It's difficult to have faith in the leadership of Eatonville based on the way they have handled a persistent proposal to build and operate a topless bar in the historic Orange County town.What's doubly upsetting is that, if the men who want to develop the topless bar prevail, their sleazy business could derail efforts to bring quality, job-producing businesses to the town, which is the oldest black municipality in the United States.

The town council will meet Monday, beginning at 7:30 p.m., in town council chambers, 275 Broad St. The agenda will include: approving an appropriation of $61,000 from the capital projects fund to cover the cost of Poquonock School cafeteria and gymnasium heating improvements; authorize the public building commission to oversee fire protection improvements at the Wilson branch library; and authorize Town Manager Peter Souza to enter into an...

SOUTHWEST RANCHES -- The sign featured three nooses and the words: "Support Our Town or You'll Hang Yourself." Displayed prominently at a town meeting this week, at least one council member considered it a threat with racial overtones. But the handful of residents who created the 3-by-5-foot banner say it was meant to let council members know that if they stop barricading roads, their political careers could end. At the beginning of the highly charged meeting Monday, council member Don Maines asked whether the sign could be removed.

The husband of the Windermere town manager will not be charged with a crime for his confrontation with Mayor Gary Bruhn that ended with Bruhn being taken to a hospital. The Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office on Wednesday decided not to charge Roland Bernier with battery against Bruhn, who was knocked unconscious at a Town Council meeting March 22. Witness statements conflicted, a State Attorney's Office spokeswoman said. Bruhn had just delivered a 30-minute critique of Bernier's wife, Cecilia Bernier, that blamed her for a scandal that culminated with the arrest of then-police Chief Daniel Saylor in January.

MAYOR'S OUT OF TOWN. The Eatonville Town Council meeting Tuesday was cool and calm - quite different from the past few meetings in which Mayor Ada Sims has chastised and argued with council members and cut discussion short with the gavel. Vice Mayor Merrile Glover took over for Sims, who was in Tallahassee, and the meeting was conducted more like a casual get-together among old friends. Recorder Vera King chuckled, saying the 1 1/2-hour meeting was definitely ''a quiet one.''

PUERTO RICO, Colombia -- A deadly attack by Colombia's main rebel group on leaders of this town has revived fears that politicians in small towns are again being targeted by leftist guerrillas. "They're trying to destroy the institution of democracy by killing us," said Oscar Nunez, director of the National Federation of Town Councils. Authorities say about 20 rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, barged into a Town Council meeting Tuesday and killed six people, including five council members.

Belle Isle residents have been caught up in a sea of debate recently over a proposed group home for autistic people in their city. Most residents strongly oppose having the home in Belle Isle. At a town council meeting Tuesday, one resident complained that he already had problems with the growth of businesses in his neighborhood and did not want any more changes. ''I can't walk through my house in my underwear because people in the hotel across the street can see me,'' he said. The crowd at the meeting burst out laughing.

EATONVILLE---Designating a location for Eatonville's new Boys & Girls Club is the topic of a special Town Council meeting scheduled for today at 6 p.m. The organization has raised $2.4 million in pledges toward the $3.4 million, 19,000-square-foot building. The town has agreed to give a section of the 10 acres known as the Denton Johnson Community Center site to the club for 99 years. An architect for the project said the best spot would be a piece of land fronting Ruffel Street. The council previously delayed a decision because some members first wanted a guarantee that town residents would have use of the land.

Windermere Town Council will meet one hour earlier starting in May. After an unanimous vote Tuesday, the council agreed to meet at 6 p.m., instead of 7 p.m., beginning next month. The change is in response to several recent meetings running longer than three hours, including a meeting in March that adjorned around 11:30 p.m. The council meets at Town Hall on the second Tuesday of the month. The next meeting will be held on May 8. – Jon Busdeker

Early days 1887: The town is laid out by John Dawe, an Englishman who names it for Windermere, England. Feb. 2, 1925: Windermere is incorporated by Cal Palmer, J. Howard Johnson and Howard Lyon. John Jaquith serves as the town's first mayor. Palmer becomes the town's second mayor; Johnson its fifth; Lyon, its seventh. 1930: Population: 153. 1940: Population: 163. 1950: Population: 317. 1956: The town prohibits outhouses.

The rancor over a shove at a Windermere Town Council meeting is ratcheting up as the mayor and town manager appear poised to take their complaints to court. Cecilia Bernier, who last month offered to quit if she received $55,000 in severance, had her attorney draft a lawsuit claiming that Mayor Gary Bruhn defamed her in remarks he made at a March 22 Town Council meeting. It demands $250,000 in damages, excluding attorney's fees and costs "Whether it's going to be filed, we don't know at this point," said Bernier's attorney, John Finnigan.

The husband of the Windermere town manager will not be charged with a crime for his confrontation with Mayor Gary Bruhn that ended with Bruhn being taken to a hospital. The Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office on Wednesday decided not to charge Roland Bernier with battery against Bruhn, who was knocked unconscious at a Town Council meeting March 22. Witness statements conflicted, a State Attorney's Office spokeswoman said. Bruhn had just delivered a 30-minute critique of Bernier's wife, Cecilia Bernier, that blamed her for a scandal that culminated with the arrest of then-police Chief Daniel Saylor in January.

The town of Windermere would shell out about $55,000 under a proposed agreement with departing Town Manager Cecilia Bernier, who has come under fire in a police scandal. The agreement, released Friday, would prohibit Bernier and her husband, Roland Bernier, from suing the town, any council member or the mayor. The council members, mayor and town also would have to agree not to sue Bernier or her husband. But the agreement is not a slam-dunk. Some members of the public — and the council — have reservations about whether Bernier should receive severance, or stay on at all, after tendering her resignation last month.

Windermere Town Manager Cecilia Bernier submitted her resignation letter Friday morning in the wake of a tumultuous two months that culminated at a Town Council meeting Tuesday with her husband and Mayor Gary Bruhn in an altercation that left the mayor unconscious. "In light of recent controversy affecting the town, it has become apparent to me that I can no longer effectively continue my service as Town Manager," the two-page letter addressed to Windermere Town Council members states.

SWINGING TO VOTE. Bill Bardoe will never take the gavel at a Windermere Town Council meeting again. Bardoe, the council's senior member, served as acting mayor for Wednesday's meeting because Bob Pleus was out of town. The meeting was running smoothly until Bardoe tried to vote on a motion to expand the town's planning area. Carl Patterson, a former mayor, then told the outspoken Bardoe he could only vote if there were a tie. After the city charter did not clarify the dispute, the council decided it would be best not to let Bardoe vote.

W indermere residents said Wednesday that they were disappointed and embarrassed by a scuffle at this week's Town Council meeting that sent the mayor to the hospital and could result in criminal charges against the town manager's husband. "It's sad," said former council member Stephen Withers. "It's not what this town is about. " The town — with its carefully cultivated image as a quiet oasis — seems to be imploding. The former police chief has been arrested on felony corruption charges.

Windermere residents said Wednesday that they were disappointed and embarrassed by a scuffle at this week's Town Council meeting that sent the mayor to the hospital and could result in criminal charges against the town manager's husband. "It's sad," said former council member Stephen Withers. "It's not what this town is about. " The town — with its carefully cultivated image as a quiet oasis — seems to be imploding. The former police chief has been arrested on felony corruption charges.